How Plants Grow

Plants are essential to life on earth.

They are the first step in the food chain, which -- as you probably remember -- goes like this: 

The Food Chain 

1. Plants take energy from the sun and turn it into food for themselves -- and for the animals that eat them. (Animals that eat plants are called herbivores.)
2. Herbivores (cows, horses, rabbits, etc.) eat the plants.
3. Carnivores (animals that eat other animals) eat the herbivores. Cats, dogs, wolves, vultures, eagles and tigers are carnivores. (Human beings are omnivores -- which means that we can eat both plants and animals.)
4. Finally, decomposers (bacteria, fungus and tiny creatures like maggots) devour leftover dead plants and animals. They are like a clean-up service for the environment.

Plants turn sunlight into food through a remarkable process called photosynthesis, which we'll tell you about in our next lesson.